Car Pooling application BlaBlacar Co-founder And Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Brusson met with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal in France's capital Paris on Tuesday. Goyal and Blablacar co-founder discussed new opportunities and the tech systems in India. 'The main discussion was what BlaBlacar car can actually do and how it can grow in India. He (Commerce Minister) gave some good ideas about how to develop even more in India," BlaBlacar CEO said about his meeting with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Explaining what the Blablacar is, Nicolas Brusson said, "Blablacar allows drivers to share their car when they drive between cities. It is an intercity carpooling app. For example, if you drive from Mumbai to Pune and you have two or three empty seats in your car, you can go on the app, and set up your profile, after the verification, you can start offering empty seats when you travel between the two cities." He further explained that passengers can book those (empty) seats and share the cost of the journey. "We have 4 million active users in India as of 2022, and it's roughly doubling every year. There are some regions like Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi and Chandigarh. There are corridors or regions where carpooling actually makes a lot of sense because public transport is too crowded or expensive," he added. He said that they are working on building more trust and reliability features in the product so that people feel trustful. Regarding the other such applications, he said that Blablacar is sometimes confused with the services of Uber and Ola. But Uber and Ola are very different because it is professional drivers typically for shorter distances within a city. Whereas in Blablacar, car owners are the drivers themselves. They just offer a ride once a month or a week when they do a trip. "So it's a non-professional service versus a professional service," Blalacar CEO said while speaking to ANI. Speaking on the expenses one might have to bear, he said that because it's car sharing, it's ten times less expensive on a per kilometre basis other than cab service applications. "Motorization is going up rapidly in India and we have created more trust features in the product so that people would feel it's a safe and reliable product. And in terms of transport, people move around a lot in India," he said while pointing out the expansion opportunities in India. "India is the fastest, largest growing economy," he added. Speaking on the Indian economy, he said, "I think it's very good. After having the meeting Minister, I realized as a foreign company that we are welcome in India. It is a very big market. Though we have 4 million users in India as of 2022. Yet, compared to the size of the market and the potential, it is very tiny because it's a big and growing market." He said that the technology ecosystem in India has always been very strong. Hiring engineers in India has always been easy. "There are lots of technology providers in India. India is a very large market and it has a very good business ecosystem making it relatively easy to do business in India," he added. He further added that it is easy to scale tech products in India. And consumer adoption is much faster than in Europe. The business summit and CEO roundtable are being organized by the Embassy of India in Paris in partnership with Medef, CII, Business France and IFFCI. 400-plus participants have registered for the business summit and have shown tremendous enthusiasm. Minister Goyal is scheduled to meet with French business leaders across various sectors and attend a CEOs roundtable. Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal is leading the Indian delegation at the India-France Business Summit, commemorating 25 years of India-France friendship, on Tuesday in Paris. Goyal and Olivier Becht, France's Minister delegate of Foreign Trade, Attractiveness and French Nationals Abroad will co-chair the India-France Business Summit.

India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal urged Indian-Americans on Monday to invest and help India widen its reach in the global market during his tour to the United States. Speaking to the Indian diaspora in New Jersey's Edison, Goyal highlighted India’s rich story which has been paved under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi During an interaction with the Indian community, Goyal, who is on a four-day visit to New York, New Jersey and Washington, highlighted the government’s bid to win over an influential and prosperous segment of the American economic life and prod them to invest in their homeland. The minister expressed a desire to have people of Indian heritage pitch India’s growth story. “I would invite you to help us shape the contours of a new India, a powerful India and India that will lead global growth and India that is destined to be a ‘Vishwaguru’,” said Goyal, in an address to the Indian diaspora. “As we take up the G-20 presidency this year, we are demonstrating to the world our abilities and our contributions as we see that in the next 25 years,” added Goyal. “In the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, not only are we reflecting on our achievements and glory but also focusing on ideas for this Kaal and I will ensure that each one of you contributes to these ideas and efforts. You stand to gain a lot and your families, and businesses have a huge opportunity (to prosper in India),” Goyal said. He added that India and US are natural partners having trade complementarities, long-standing strategic and economic relationships and a strong people to people contact. Both are vibrant democracies as well, the Union minister noted. “Both the US and India are vibrant democracies. We both have very strong linkages and bonds of friendship, very strong geopolitical ties, and huge interests in business and trade in the economic well-being of both countries,” Goyal added. Lauding India’s economy and how it bounced back after the Covid lockdown, Goyal said 2022 was a record trade year, with India’s exports growing to USD 670 billion. Goyal is in the United States to participate in the 13th Trade Policy Forum (TPF) ministerial meeting, a primary bilateral mechanism on trade, with US Trade Representative Katherine Tai. The top Indian official is also scheduled to call on US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. TPF is a premier forum to resolve trade and investment issues between India and the US. The TPF was established in July 2005 to discuss trade and investment issues. The objective of the forum is to facilitate trade and investment flow between the two countries, develop and implement trade policies through transparent procedures that comply with international obligations, foster a conducive environment for technological collaboration and innovation and promote inclusive economic growth and job creation in India and the US. The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and the trade representative of the US are the co-chairs of the Trade Policy Forum. The 12th TPF ministerial meeting was held on November 23, 2021 after a gap of four years, in New Delhi. The Union minister will also meet business leaders in New York, and Washington, apart from engaging with members of the diaspora. A Commerce ministry release said the forum is a “platform for continuous engagement between two countries in the area of trade and to further the trade and investment relations between the two countries”. The two countries are also collaborating under the QUAD, I2U2 (India-Israel/ UAE-USA) and IPEF (Indo-Pacific Economic Framework). Regular exchanges at the leadership level have been an integral element of the expanding bilateral engagement. The outcomes emerging from these visits have been instrumental in further strengthening the multifaceted ties between the two countries.  Source:ANI  

Varanasi, (Uttar Pradesh) [India], December 15 (ANI): The textile industry is committed to achieving the $100 billion export target by 2030. Kashi and Tamil Nadu will play a major role in this, said Union Commerce and Textiles minister Piyush Goyal after his meeting with textile industry leaders in Varanasi. "The textile industry is full of confidence. They are going to achieve the USD 100 bn targets and they are going to become the largest creator of jobs and employment and work opportunities in this country after agriculture," said Piyush Goyal. Union Commerce and Textiles minister Piyush Goyal said that Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has steered this wonderful one-month program through which we are bringing Tamil Nadu and Kashi culture closer together. "My colleague Union Education and Skill Development Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has steered this wonderful one-month program through which we are bringing Tamil Nadu and Kashi culture closer together. Examples of our tradition, rich culture, history and old tie between Kashi and Tamil Nadu will open up new opportunities and new possibilities," said Goyal. Piyush Goyal said that textile is a sector where margins of 5 per cent are very important to become competitive, adding, "With the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with countries we are insisting that we get duty-free access for Indian textiles. Both in UAE and Australia textile sector assures me that the possibilities for growth are huge. We are working on FTAs which will all give a boost to the textile sector." Citing an example of the United Kingdom Goyal said that the UK has a 12 per cent import duty and a 9 per cent import duty on different items. "If that goal tells you better but textile is a sector is are very important to become competitive. With Richard's agreement, we are insisting that we get duty-free access to Indian textiles both in UAE and Australia. The textile sector assures me that the possibilities of growth we are working on should all give a boost to the textile sector. The textile sector has a 9 to 12 per cent import duty on different items. If that goes away, suddenly we get a big boost for our textile industry," said Goyal. He said that PM Mitra park is at an advanced stage of evaluating the 18 proposals received it will hopefully be able to finalise them in the near future. "The MITRA park seeks to integrate the textile value chain from spinning, weaving, processing, dyeing, and printing to garment manufacturing," he said. Chairman and Managing Director of Lakshmi Machine Works Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu, said that both Tamil Nadu and Kashi had a very strong textile industry. "India is going to be a very large player in the textile business. Today we are number three number and soon I'm sure we will become number two. Through FTAs I am sure that India will be able to export a lot of great fabric all over the world and I'm sure it's going to flourish in the future," added Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu. "One thing which India lacked was FTAs.and I thank the government for having worked on many FTAs between India and other countries. This gives access to our goods into those countries and concessional duty compared to the other countries as well, this was sure to boost our exports to these companies", he said.  Source: ANI

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday (local time) pitched for increasing engagements with the US that will provide new opportunities to India for combating challenges in supply chains. Addressing media at San Francisco he said, "The visit and engagements in the US will open up opportunities for us to work in partnership with each other, and ensure that during challenges supply chains remain open and businesses don't suffer and people of both the countries don't suffer." Goyal is on a six-day visit to San Francisco and Los Angeles to attend the India-US Strategic Partnership Forum conference and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) ministerial meeting. Insisting on the importance of IPEF, he said, "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework brings together a group of friendly countries who collectively believe in the need to ensure that Indo-Pacific region remains secure and open for business." He also highlighted strong business relations between India and the US. "We share strong business relations and the US is our largest trading partner. There is a lot of investment flow between the countries. The visit is a follow-up on our ties with the US," said Goyal. India and US relations are strengthening by the day. The 2+2 ministerial dialogue has become very robust and vibrant. "Our engagement in several areas is expanding. The leaders, businesses and people of both the countries are closer than ever before," said the Union Minister. All the countries meeting for the IPEF ministerial have a lot to offer to each other in terms of trade, investment, technology etc and will be working together on all these fronts. Underscoring India's economic stability, he said that India is an attractive destination for investment. "India offers a huge market with 1.3 billion aspirational minds, honest governance, transparent economic policies, rule of law, media and judiciary to safeguard interests of the investor or anybody working with India, making India an attractive destination for investment," said Goyal. "We have had record Foreign Direct Investment in India for the last 8 years. Last year we had the highest ever goods and services exports. Despite all the challenges, India continues to be a preferred trading partner and investment destination," he added. He said that engagements with the US will provide Indians with increased job opportunities and will give thrust to India's economic activity. "All of this will lead to the well-being of the people of India, providing them job opportunities, thrust to economic activity and growth which is very essential for our long term development. India's increasing international engagements and trade ties are leading to more employment opportunities and greater economic activity," said Goyal. Source: ANI  

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that India was considering entering into a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Oman. He was delivering the keynote address at the 10th Meeting of India-Oman Joint Business Council (JBC) in New Delhi today. Goyal further said that India was already looking at a comprehensive trade agreement with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, of which Oman is an important member. The Minister said that the Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) that took place on Wednesday between India and Oman, which had been long overdue, was a very productive one. He expressed confidence that the discussions with business leaders on both sides would complement the discussions under JCM, come up with new ideas to boost our already deep bonds of friendship, and turn our vision into reality. Observing that India and Oman have been connected for more than 5,000 years through friendship and brotherhood and very warm and strong people-to-people ties, the Minister said that despite such close relations, the bilateral trade and investment in the two nations were yet to reach maximum potential. Goyal stressed that all the engagement that happened in the JCM, the friendship between him and his counterpart in Oman, the visionary leadership of the heads of both nations and the warm people to people ties between the two nations should and must lead to a significant increase in business to business engagement. Paying his respects to the Arab world's longest-serving ruler, late Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said of Oman, Goyal said, "He was held in very high esteem in India and was conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize. He was one of the architects of close India-Oman bilateral relations. We owe it to him to strive to transform his vision into reality and take the partnership between India and Oman to the heights it truly deserves."   The Union Minister expressed confidence that the Joint Business Council (JBC) will supplement the efforts of the governments of both countries to deepen engagement. He underscored that these agreements would only reach their true potential if businesses display that enthusiasm which will, in turn, help political leaders take bold decisions. Goyal urged businesses in both nations to look at new opportunities, especially in services, investment, food security, sustainability, renewable energy and startups. The Minister acknowledged the care, concern and love that was showered on expatriate Indians by the people of Oman, especially during the pandemic. He added that Oman was the 1st country in the GCC to authorize the use of India made Covaxin. Referring to cultural and culinary affinities between the two nations, the Minister said that these ties have brought the people of both nations even closer. The Minister invited the Government of Oman to increase their pharma trade with India. Mentioning the market study on the cooperation in the pharma sector that was unveiled at the JCM on Wednesday, the Minister expressed confidence that the report would be invaluable to Indian companies wishing to enter the Omani market. "Our pharma companies will bring quality products at competitive prices to consumers in Oman and help bring down the cost of healthcare," he assured. Goyal also thanked Oman for agreeing to fast-track approval for Indian medicines that had already been cleared by strong regulatory environments like the UK, EU and the USA. The Minister urged both nations to leave no stone unturned when it comes to working together to improve the lives of people in India and Oman. Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef, Minister of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of the Sultanate of Oman said that the two nations had a successful Joint Commission Meeting and added that India and Oman had great trust and confidence in each other. He also invited Indian companies to invest and do business in Oman.   Source: ANI

India has achieved the export target of USD 418 billion this year and the latest figure of exports is close to USD 419.5 billion, said Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday. Goyal told a press conference, "You all are aware that we have achieved the export target of USD 418 billion this year. According to the new figures that have just come out, we are close to USD 419.5 billion." He said that after achieving the 'goods export target' of over USD 400 billion, India has achieved yet another milestone by accomplishing the 'service export target' of USD 250 billion for the financial year 2021-22. The Union Minister said that new economic cooperation and trade agreements with Australia and UAE would open 10 lakhs job opportunities in sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, leather goods and jewellery. "Countries across the globe are working in partnership with India. The India-UAE agreement will give a minimum of 10 lakh jobs and India-Australia FTA (Free Trade Agreement) will provide another 10 lakh jobs in textile, pharmaceuticals, leather goods, gems and jewellery sectors," Goyal said. Yesterday, while delivering the keynote address at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the 'Confederation of Indian Textile Industry- Cotton Development and Research Association' (CITI- CDRA) in New Delhi, the Union Minister said that new economic cooperation and trade agreements with Australia and UAE would open infinite opportunities for sectors such as textiles, handloom, footwear. He said that Indian textile exports to Australia and UAE would now face zero duty and expressed confidence that soon Europe, Canada, the UK and GCC countries would also welcome Indian textile exports at zero duty. Goyal said the Indian textile Industry has the potential to achieve USD 100 billion dollars in exports by 2030. He applauded CITI-CDRA for working towards developing a robust cotton ecosystem by directly engaging about 90,000 cotton farmers. The Minister observed that more than just fibre, cotton has been an integral part of Indian culture, lifestyle and tradition. Source: Business Standard  

India's 65 million MSMEs are fast-moving to embrace digitization to make India a trillion-dollar digital economy, said Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday. According to a press release from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Union Minister called for partnerships among countries for achieving Sustainable Growth. Addressing the Inaugural Session of the CII Partnership Summit 2021 on the theme "Partnering for Building a New World: Growth, Competitiveness, Sustainability, Technology" through video conferencing, Goyal told India, as it assumes presidency of the G20, will contribute global partnerships for solving global crises and issues collectively. "India has emerged as the 'World's Trusted Partner'. Even in the critical situation of Covid19, even under severe lockdown, India met all of its international service commitments.  Despite severe lockdowns, services and supply chains did not suffer for even a second," Goyal said. The Union Minister assured the global delegation that India will supply Covid vaccines to the whole world to tackle the pandemic. India also plans to manufacture 5 billion doses of covid jabs next year, goyal added. "Along with protecting its own population, India has also provided medical supplies and equipment to more than 150 countries across the globe," he said, "It is in line with India's ancient wisdom of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The World is One Family). Nobody will be safe until everybody is safe; nobody will be happy until everybody will be happy," Goyal said. The minister said the pandemic has put India under the spotlight, to  uphold its potential as a global leader especially at a time when the country is celebrating 75 years of independence Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. "India's cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination coverage exceeds 1.33 billion doses," he said. Goyal said all the ministers of india are working for the welfare of the poor with the Government's philosophy of 'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayas'. "We have been operating the world's largest food distribution programme serving more than 800 million beneficiaries for 19 months along with the world's largest health insurance programme reaching out to the poorest of the poor," he added. Calling for a discrimination free and just world trade order, Goyal said, with 'Panchamrit', Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set very ambitious and attainable targets for India at the COP26. "India will attain its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 GW by 2030 and meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements from RE. We also hope to attain Net Zero (Carbon Footprint) by 2070 in the fastest possible time," he said. Under the reign of Norendra Modi, India is on a Reform Journey that has transformed its landscape with several schemes like the PLI, PM Mitra, Reduction in Corporate Tax, Ease of Doing Business and Single Window, Goyal said. Today India's businesses are advancing towards the adoption of tech like 5G, AI, IoT (Internet of Things), etc. to achieve Manufacturing excellence, he also said. Source: ANI

Indian Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said India is working on 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' just like the United States embarked on a 'Build Back Better' framework. While welcoming United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai at a reception in New Delhi, Goyal said the Indian economy has recovered sharply and the rising economic indicators point towards 'India shaping up for a growth decade'. He said India and US have gained strength over years due to defense cooperation and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) has given it a new boost. Tai is on a two-day visit to India and is accompanied by Deputy United States Trade Representative Sarah Bianchi. Goyal said India-US bilateral trade is showing a robust increase. The minister said that rising economic indicators point towards "India shaping up for a growth decade" and referred to Moody's rating upgrade, flourishing foreign trade, highest-ever FDI, robust GST collection, strong fundamentals and vibrant Startup ecosystem. He said India is also implementing the largest COVID-19 vaccination drive in the world, having administered over 1.1 billion doses and has plan to manufacture five billion doses next year, to help serve and secure all of humanity. Goyal said that India and US partnership can not only help each other but the entire world to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. "Citizens from both our countries look towards India-US partnerships with great optimism and hope. This is a partnership that can not only help each other but the entire world to recover from the pandemic. As the 35th President of US John F Kennedy said, 'If not us, who? If not now, when? Today, we have the power to create history, start our journey towards a new era of growth and show the world that with good intentions and substantive action, we can create a brighter future together," he said. Source: ANI

Hours after the government approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for textiles, Union Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday, lauded this scheme and hoped that with this, India has the capacity to make high-quality products at competitive prices. Appreciating this scheme, the Union Minister said, "PLI (Production Linked Incentive) scheme (for textiles) has been conceptualised to make India truly competitive and bring economies of scale and high-quality production to India." "Textile sector has seen that, over last many years, we have grown largely in cotton, wool, silk - tradition textiles. But when it comes to man-made fibre or technical textiles, India relatively remained behind. We don't have much of a stake in the world market," the Union Minister said. The Union Minister stressed that, with this scheme, the effort is to promote this industry in India and attract large-scale investments. "Today two-third of international trade is of technical textiles and man-made fiber. Our effort is to promote that industry in India, attract large investments where Rs 100 crore plus or Rs 300 crore plus are invested in India, create about 7.5 lakh direct jobs -indirectly it'll be more," he said. Goyal said, "I think this will help India become a global player as well as give India the capacity to make high-quality products at competitive prices." Taking steps forward towards the vision of an 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', the Government led by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has approved the PLI Scheme for Textiles for MMF Apparel, MMF Fabrics, and 10 segments/ products of Technical Textiles with a budgetary outlay of Rs 10,683 crore, as per the official release by the Cabinet. PLI scheme for Textiles is part of the overall announcement of PLI Schemes for 13 sectors made earlier during the Union Budget 2021-22, with an outlay of Rs. 1.97 lakh crore. With the announcement of PLI Schemes for 13 sectors, minimum production in India is expected to be around Rs. 37.5 lakh crore over 5 years and minimum expected employment over 5 years is nearly 1 crore. Source: ANI